Comedian Wanda Sykes joined ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel on his Tuesday show to look back and blame President Trump for Kimmel’s September suspension, and claim the thing that worries her most about Trump is “everything.”
Kimmel brought up his suspension when he recalled, “You were our scheduled guest on the night our show got pulled off the air in September, and then you weren't on the show because I wasn't on the show and the show wasn't on the show… At what time did you get the word? Do you recall?”
Wanda Sykes looks back the night Jimmy Kimmel was suspended when she was supposed to be on the show and blames Trump, "We were heading out to the car. And my—Danica—my publicist called and said, 'Don't get in the car, they're pre-empting the show, whatever, they’re doing… pic.twitter.com/33CdXRc35T
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) May 20, 2026
Sykes responded by claiming, “We were heading out to the car. And my—Danica—my publicist called and said, ‘Don't get in the car, they're preempting the show, whatever, they’re doing something.’ I'm like, ‘What?’ She's like, ‘It's something with Trump and everything, and Jimmy's not on air tonight.’ I was like, ‘What the hell?’”
In the grand scheme of history, September was not that long ago. Yet, liberals keep trying to rewrite why Kimmel was suspended. Kimmel was widely condemned for his remarks about conservatives in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination when he said they spent the weekend trying to convince people the shooter “wasn’t one of them.” This was as liberals—not just internet weirdos, but prominent and respected ones—were claiming that the assassin was a right-winger despite all evidence to the contrary.
ABC suspended Kimmel because he failed to see what he did wrong and was going to come out and give a hot response to his critics, but ABC didn’t want to inflame the situation, so it suspended him in order to give him time to cool down.
Back on Tuesday, Kimmel agreed, “Right. That was my reaction.”
Sykes then continued, “It was like, ‘Wait a minute, is this really happening? Is this really going down like this?’ And I was—you know, I was at my friend's, so we just, you know, went back inside, and she made martinis.”
A few minutes later, Kimmel declared, “I love hearing you talk about him. I think you do a great job of talking about serious stuff in a funny way. And I remember a couple of specials ago, you did a whole thing that I just loved about how he's the only president that hasn't aged in office.”
After Sykes retorted, “Right, but we are like light speed. We're aging, you know, but age is catching up with him now.”
Later, Kimmel asks Sykes what she fears most about Trump and she says "Well, everything. Everything. He makes you worry about everything. You know, like, the hantavirus. I heard about it here and there. It’s like “Oh, no big deal.” Until I heard him talk about it." pic.twitter.com/XWFfn7f1jf
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) May 20, 2026
An intrigued Kimmel followed up, “You think so?” and Sykes elaborated, “Yeah, you see that. He's falling asleep standing up and—”
Kimmel then wondered, “What's the number one thing you worry about as far as Trump goes?”
Sykes replied with a less-than-stellar Trump impression, “Well, everything. Everything. He makes you worry about everything. You know, like, the hantavirus. I heard about it here and there. I was like, ‘Oh, no big deal.’ Until I heard him talk about it. He's like, ‘Well, it's under control, well, you know, we got a good grip on it, and well, we think we have it, well, I don't know the people, I don't know anything about it, but’— I'm like, ‘Oh, my god, we're all going to die by the hantavirus.’”
She also claimed, “I wasn't concerned about it until he started talking about it. I'm like, 'Oh, boy.’ Now Ebola is out here? What the hell, man?”
The duo then turned that into a riff about Trump’s hands, with Kimmel proclaiming, “Yeah, Ebola's no good. I don't know what's going on with those hands, though, I mean—that’s—who knows what that is. That could be contagious also.”
Sykes agreed, “Exactly. Is he carrying it? All the diseases? Maybe it's him. Maybe it's just all— just festering in there, you know. A little Ebola, a little hantavirus, you know, bird flu. I don't know. Could be anything in there.”
Including some Trump Derangement Syndrome, where Sykes allows Trump to control what she thinks about everything.
Here is a transcript for the May 19 show:
ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!
5/19/2026
JIMMY KIMMEL: You were our scheduled guest on the night our show got pulled off the air—
WANDA SYKES: Yup.
KIMMEL: in September, and then you weren't on the show because I wasn't on the show and the show wasn't on the show.
SYKES: Right. Yeah—
KIMMEL: When did you—
SYKES: —so there was a lot of not being here.
KIMMEL: Yeah.
SYKES: Yeah.
KIMMEL: At what time did you get the word? Do you recall?
SYKES: I was about to get in the car. Like, glam had just finished up, and so—
KIMMEL: Oh.
SYKES: —We were heading out to the car. And my—Danica—my publicist called and said, "Don't get in the car, they're preempting the show, whatever, they’re doing something.”
I'm like, “What?” She's like, "It's something with Trump and everything, and Jimmy's got on air tonight." I was like, "what the hell?” Yeah?
KIMMEL: Right. That was my reaction.
SYKES: Yeah. It was like, “Wait a minute, is this really happening? Is this really going down like this?” And I was—you know, I was at my friend's, so we just, you know, went back inside, and she made martinis.
…
KIMMEL: I love hearing you talk about it. I love hearing you talk about him. I think you do a great job of talking about serious stuff in a funny way. And I remember a couple of specials ago, you did a whole thing that I just loved about how he's the only president that hasn't aged in office.
SYKES: Right, but we are like light speed. We're aging, you know.
KIMMEL: Yes, yes.
SYKES: But age is catching up with him now.
KIMMEL: You think so?
SYKES: Yeah, you see that. He's falling asleep standing up and—
KIMMEL: What's the number one thing you worry about as far as Trump goes?
SYKES: Well, everything. Everything. He makes you worry about everything.
KIMMEL: Yeah.
SYKES: You know, like, the hantavirus. I heard about it here and there. I was like, “Oh, no big deal.” Until I heard him talk about it. He's like, “Well, it's under control, well, you know, we got a good grip on it, and well, we think we have it, well, I don't know the people, I don't know anything about it, but”— I'm like, “Oh, my god, we're all going to die by the hantavirus.”
But I wasn't concerned about it until he started talking about it. I'm like, “oh, boy.” Now Ebola is out here? What the hell, man?
KIMMEL: Yeah, Ebola's no good. I don't know what's going on with those hands, though, I mean—that’s—who knows what that is.
SYKES: Yes.
KIMMEL: That could be contagious also.
SYKES: Exactly. Is he carrying it? All the diseases? Maybe it's him. Maybe it's just all— just festering in there, you know. A little Ebola, a little hantavirus, you know, bird flu. I don't know. Could be anything in there.
